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Diaboliad and Other Stories
In Bulgakov's "Diaboliad", the modest and unassuming office clerk Korotkov is summarily sacked for a trifling error from his job at the First Central Depot for the Materials for Matches, and tries to seek out his newly assigned superior Kalsoner, responsible for his dismissal. His quest through the labyrinth of Soviet bureaucracy takes on the increasingly surreal dimensions of a nightmare. This early satirical story, reminiscent of Gogol and Dostoevsky, was first published in 1924 and incurred the wrath of pro-Soviet critics. Along with the three other stories in this volume which also feature explorations of the absurd and bizarre, it provides a fascinating glimpse into the artistic development of the author of "Master and Margarita".
120 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1925
About the author
Mikhail Bulgakov
646 books7,244 followersMikhail Bulgakov was born in Kyiv, Russian Empire (today part of modern Ukraine) on 3/15 May 1891. He studied and briefly practised medicine and, after indigent wanderings through revolutionary Russia and the Caucasus, he settled in Moscow in 1921. His sympathetic portrayal of White characters in his stories, in the plays The Days of the Turbins (The White Guard), which enjoyed great success at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1926, and Flight (1927), and his satirical treatment of the officials of the New Economic Plan, led to growing criticism, which became violent after the play, The Purple Island. His later works treat the subject of the artist and the tyrant under the guise of historical characters, with plays such as Molière, staged in 1936, Don Quixote, staged in 1940, and Pushkin, staged in 1943. He also wrote a brilliant biography, highly original in form, of his literary hero, Molière, but The Master and Margarita, a fantasy novel about the devil and his henchmen set in modern Moscow, is generally considered his masterpiece. Fame, at home and abroad, was not to come until a quarter of a century after his death in Moscow in 1940.
Detailed Version
Mikhaíl Afanasyevich Bulgakov (Russian: Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков) was the first of six children in the family of a theology professor. His family belonged to the intellectual elite of Kyiv. Bulgakov and his brothers took part in the demonstration commemorating the death of Leo Tolstoy. Bulgakov later graduated with honors from the Medical School of Kyiv University in 1915. He married his classmate Tatiana Lappa, who became his assistant at surgeries and in his doctor's office. He practiced medicine, specializing in venereal and other infectious diseases, from 1915 to 1919 (he later wrote about the experience in "Notes of a Young Doctor.")
He joined the anti-communist White Army during the Russian Civil War. After the Civil War, he tried (unsuccesfully) to emigrate from Russia to reunite with his brother in Paris. Several times he was almost killed by opposing forces on both sides of the Russian Civil War, but soldiers needed doctors, so Bulgakov was left alive. He provided medical help to the Chehchens, Caucasians, Cossacs, Russians, the Whites, and the Reds.
In 1921, Bulgakov moved to Moscow. There he became a writer and became friends with Valentin Katayev, Yuri Olesha, Ilya Ilf, Yevgeni Petrov, and Konstantin Paustovsky. Later, he met Mikhail Zoschenko, Anna Akhmatova, Viktor Ardov, Sergei Mikhalkov, and Kornei Chukovsky. Bulgakov's plays at the Moscow Art Theatre were directed by Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.
Bugakov's own way of life and his witty criticism of the ugly realities of life in the Soviet Union caused him much trouble. His story "Heart of a Dog" (1925) is a bitter satire about the loss of civilized values in Russia under the Soviet system. Soon after, Bulgakov was interrogated by the Soviet secret service, OGPU. After interrogations, his personal diary and several unfinished works were confiscated by the secret service. His plays were banned in all theaters, which terminated his income. Destitute, he wrote to his brother in Paris about his terrible life and poverty in Moscow. Bulgakov distanced himself from the Proletariat Writer's Union because he refused to write about the peasants and proletariat. He adapted "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol for the stage; it became a success but was soon banned.
He took a risk and wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin with an ultimatum: "Let me out of the Soviet Union, or restore my work at the theaters." On the 18th of April of 1930, Bulgakov received a telephone call from Joseph Stalin. The dictator told the writer to fill an employment application at the Moscow Art Theater. Gradually, Bulgakov's plays were back in the repertoire of the Moscow Art Theatre. But most other theatres were in fear and did not stage any of th
Detailed Version
Mikhaíl Afanasyevich Bulgakov (Russian: Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков) was the first of six children in the family of a theology professor. His family belonged to the intellectual elite of Kyiv. Bulgakov and his brothers took part in the demonstration commemorating the death of Leo Tolstoy. Bulgakov later graduated with honors from the Medical School of Kyiv University in 1915. He married his classmate Tatiana Lappa, who became his assistant at surgeries and in his doctor's office. He practiced medicine, specializing in venereal and other infectious diseases, from 1915 to 1919 (he later wrote about the experience in "Notes of a Young Doctor.")
He joined the anti-communist White Army during the Russian Civil War. After the Civil War, he tried (unsuccesfully) to emigrate from Russia to reunite with his brother in Paris. Several times he was almost killed by opposing forces on both sides of the Russian Civil War, but soldiers needed doctors, so Bulgakov was left alive. He provided medical help to the Chehchens, Caucasians, Cossacs, Russians, the Whites, and the Reds.
In 1921, Bulgakov moved to Moscow. There he became a writer and became friends with Valentin Katayev, Yuri Olesha, Ilya Ilf, Yevgeni Petrov, and Konstantin Paustovsky. Later, he met Mikhail Zoschenko, Anna Akhmatova, Viktor Ardov, Sergei Mikhalkov, and Kornei Chukovsky. Bulgakov's plays at the Moscow Art Theatre were directed by Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.
Bugakov's own way of life and his witty criticism of the ugly realities of life in the Soviet Union caused him much trouble. His story "Heart of a Dog" (1925) is a bitter satire about the loss of civilized values in Russia under the Soviet system. Soon after, Bulgakov was interrogated by the Soviet secret service, OGPU. After interrogations, his personal diary and several unfinished works were confiscated by the secret service. His plays were banned in all theaters, which terminated his income. Destitute, he wrote to his brother in Paris about his terrible life and poverty in Moscow. Bulgakov distanced himself from the Proletariat Writer's Union because he refused to write about the peasants and proletariat. He adapted "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol for the stage; it became a success but was soon banned.
He took a risk and wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin with an ultimatum: "Let me out of the Soviet Union, or restore my work at the theaters." On the 18th of April of 1930, Bulgakov received a telephone call from Joseph Stalin. The dictator told the writer to fill an employment application at the Moscow Art Theater. Gradually, Bulgakov's plays were back in the repertoire of the Moscow Art Theatre. But most other theatres were in fear and did not stage any of th
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December 5, 2017
Considering dozens and dozens of reviews are posted for The Master and Margarita and my review of this little collection of Bulgakov tales published some twenty years ago is one of the first on Goodreads, it is fair to say many readers have committed an oversight. Unfortunate since these short works are masterpieces in their own right. If you love The Master and Margarita you will also love reading this book.
Eleven tales included here, two of which - Diaboliad and The Fatal Eggs - are long enough to qualify as novellas. For the purposes of this review and in the interest of brevity, I will focus on the title story of the collection.
Diaboliad is a forty-five page absurdist romp through the Russian state-supported bureaucracy, told in eleven chapters, each chapter complete with its own heading, which can give one the sense of reading a novel in miniature.
We follow our hero and main character, Comrade Korotkov, a gentle, quiet clerk who would like nothing more than to continue his predictable routine at Main Central Supply (suppliers of Match-making Materials, that is) - and you have to love Bulgakov's telling us the unit is not only `Central' but also `Main Central', adding a pinch more spice to the satirical stew . And such spicy satire is sprinkled on every page.
Here is an example of what happens a day after the unit's cashier returns to the office with a dead chicken as part of his general announcement that there is no money. Imagine not only having to deal with the boss of your nightmares, but also the boss's identical twin, identical with two exceptions - the twin has a long red beard and much different voice. However, you are totally in the dark, thinking the twins are one and the same boss with a long red beard that keeps mysteriously appearing and disappearing and a voice that keeps changing.
Such is the plight of Korotkov. But this is only the very beginning. Turns out, Korotkov has to deal with his own twin, a twin who might or might not be the creation of bureaucratic error. As Korotkov runs frantically from office to office in an attempt to save his job, his identify and recover his stolen documents, we realize our hero is in a kind of Alice in Wonderland world, but this being 1920s Soviet Russia, we have Korotkov in Stalinland. How far can things spin out of control?
Toward the end, in Chapter Nine, TYPEWRITER TERROR, we read what happens in one of the government offices: "The wall fell apart before Korotkov's very eyes, and tinkling their bells thirty typewriters on desks began to play a fox-trot. Swaying their hips, wiggling their shoulders voluptuously, tossing up their creamy legs in a white foam, the thirty women set off in a can-can and circled around the desks."
Now a comrade can take only so much, even a comrade who is gentle and quiet and merely wants to do his job as a clerk. Comrade Korotkov becomes progressively more frustrated and then progressively more angry, stomping his feet and yelling, and, toward the end of the novella, when given a prompting to become violent, Comrade Korotkov does indeed become violent, resulting in a fellow-worker's very bloody face and head. Such violence leads to the final chapter, A CINEMA STYLE CHASE AND THE ABYSS, a chase and abyss that must be read in Bulgakov's own words, even if those words are in English translation.
Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov, 1891 - 1940
September 28, 2024
ابلیسنامه یکی از نخستین رمانهای میخائیل بولگاکف است که در آن، نویسنده با استفاده از طنز سیاه و رئالیسم جادویی، به نقد جامعهی شوروی و به خصوص بوروکراسی آن پرداخته . این رمان، با روایت داستانی طنزآمیز ، نشان میدهد که چگونه سیستمهای اداری و بوروکراتیک، زندگی افراد را به جهنم تبدیل میکنند .
با ترکیب پررنگ عناصر فانتزی و واقعیت کمرنگ ، بولگاکف دنیایی سورئال و وهمآلود خلق کرده که در آن، رویدادهای شگفت انگیز به وقوع میپیوندند. این عناصر فانتزی را شاید بتوان به عنوان نمادی از بیمعنایی و پوچی زندگی در جامعهی شوروی دانست .
قهرمان داستان او کارمند سادهای به نام کاراتکوف است که در یک اداره کوچک مشغول به کار است. زندگی روزمره و یکنواخت و کارمندی او با یک سوءتفاهم کوچک به هم ریخته و او به سرعت وارد دنیای دیوانه واری می شود که خروج از آن چندان راحت نیست .
از آن جا که خواندن مقدمه کتاب ، بخشی از داستان دیوانه وار بولگاکف را فاش می کند ، شاید بهتر باشد که مقدمه را پس از داستان خواند .
با ترکیب پررنگ عناصر فانتزی و واقعیت کمرنگ ، بولگاکف دنیایی سورئال و وهمآلود خلق کرده که در آن، رویدادهای شگفت انگیز به وقوع میپیوندند. این عناصر فانتزی را شاید بتوان به عنوان نمادی از بیمعنایی و پوچی زندگی در جامعهی شوروی دانست .
قهرمان داستان او کارمند سادهای به نام کاراتکوف است که در یک اداره کوچک مشغول به کار است. زندگی روزمره و یکنواخت و کارمندی او با یک سوءتفاهم کوچک به هم ریخته و او به سرعت وارد دنیای دیوانه واری می شود که خروج از آن چندان راحت نیست .
از آن جا که خواندن مقدمه کتاب ، بخشی از داستان دیوانه وار بولگاکف را فاش می کند ، شاید بهتر باشد که مقدمه را پس از داستان خواند .
April 7, 2024
خوندن ابلیس نامه برام مثل خوردن آبنبات جرقه ای برای اولین بار بود. هیجان انگیز، غیر قابل پیشبینی و بطور عجیبی خوشمزه. با اولین تماس دهنمو شیرین کرد؛ بعد چند لحظه ترشی هیجان انگیز نشست روی کامم و آب دهنمو راه انداخت. با خودم گفتم به به! قراره خیییلی کیف کنم. و بعد درست جایی که فکرشو نمیکردم آسشو رو کرد و تق تق تق ... این دیگه چه کوفتی بود لعنتی! تازه فهمیدم شعبده بازی و جادو یعنی چی.
قطعا بولگاکف نابغه تر از مخترع آبنبات جرقه ای عه چون بلده با کلمه ها جادو کنه و اونا رو توی مغزت بترکونه.
....
مرسی از علی برای پیشنهاد هیجان انگیزش، به موقع و موثر بود❤️
......
امتیاز من ⭐️⭐️⭐️
به همه اون دیوونه هایی که سورئال دوس دارن پیشنهاد میکنم .
عاااا راستی، بخش اولشو آخرش بخونید اسپویل نشید. خیییلی توی لذت بردن ازش اثر داره🌚
قطعا بولگاکف نابغه تر از مخترع آبنبات جرقه ای عه چون بلده با کلمه ها جادو کنه و اونا رو توی مغزت بترکونه.
....
مرسی از علی برای پیشنهاد هیجان انگیزش، به موقع و موثر بود❤️
......
امتیاز من ⭐️⭐️⭐️
به همه اون دیوونه هایی که سورئال دوس دارن پیشنهاد میکنم .
عاااا راستی، بخش اولشو آخرش بخونید اسپویل نشید. خیییلی توی لذت بردن ازش اثر داره🌚
March 27, 2018
Introduction & Notes, by Julie Curtis
--Diaboliad
--The Fatal Eggs
--No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune
--A Chinese Tale
--The Adventures of Chichikov
--Diaboliad
--The Fatal Eggs
--No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune
--A Chinese Tale
--The Adventures of Chichikov
January 29, 2023
The sheer scope of Bulgakov's imagination is stunning. What a whimsically dark and satirical collection! My mind reeled through the entire book, trying to find a firm patch of ground to land on. The elements of surrealism create an incredibly amorphous narrative. Bulgakov also works in elements of horror, science fiction, and comedy. There are moments, particularly in the title story Diaboliad where you're not sure whether to find funny or chill-inducing.
April 15, 2019
Those 4 devilish short stories read through with a devilish speed put a devilish smile on my face. At first sight I'm Not really sure what I've grasped out of them (two of the stories put my mind on wires and couldn't get them straight yet...) but I've put more attention into the first 'Diaboliad' and the last story 'The adventures of Chichikov'. I followed in a frenzy mindset the hero of the tale 'Diaboliad', especially that it echoed the concept of the 'double', which I enjoyed very much also in 'the double' by Saramago. Of course, the ending was predictable, but this didn't decrease the intensity of the story development. As for Chichikov, yes, it's a reminder to rejoice (again) in Gogol's works..
February 3, 2018
Diaboliad or Life at the cooperative.
….sorry, we have run out of pay-checks but you will have your salary in matchsticks, or cheap wine, or even left-hand shoes – depending on what kind of cooperative you work in.
The Devil take it! And that is not just an expression.
Going into a frenzy, starting to test strike the very poor-quality matchsticks our protagonist-with-soon-no-name is covered in a cloud of Sulphur, not to mention the immediate harm done by flying sparks.
There is a distinct odor in the room, the smell of Hell.
But first, Purgatory … in which Comrade Korotkov falls from grace, looses his job and identity.
The general idea of Purgatory is “cleansing” and, as some claim, to prepare your soul for hitting the elevator button either up or down.
In this Purgatory there are a few inspirational elevator scenes and a lot of running down blind alleys, near-slips and carnal temptations.
Overall you would think that as Korotov is really taking on some effort, show the will to better himself and comply with what is expected of him, everything will turn out just fine.
The thing about nightmares is that you never know if they are real, this one neither…
A melodramatic and satirical farce, that Kafka connoisseurs will clearly appreciate.
5/5
No. 13
Once you give assets back to “The People”, they soon prove not able to handle it.
It only takes a spark … and the caretakers hoarded kerosene …
3/5
A Chinese Tale
How to prove worthy of a Soviet citizenship … and then you die.
4/5
The Adventures of Chichikov
Once upon a time lived a man who ceased an opportunity.
Thanks to endless rows of bureaucracy the opportunity grew larger, and as The Holy Scripture says; “For whoever has, to him more shall be given …”.
Thus encouraged, our man buys property, land, sets up businesses and factories in what is today known as a” carousel scheme”. Once your first successful “buy” is secured, you take up loans using that as a security. If no one is talking to each other, and there are ways of preventing this, you continue building your empire. A lot of bureaucracy is a help in this, and that is just what your 20-ties Soviet can provide on large scale.
Was all this just a dream? Maybe, but it could easily have happened.
5/5
….sorry, we have run out of pay-checks but you will have your salary in matchsticks, or cheap wine, or even left-hand shoes – depending on what kind of cooperative you work in.
The Devil take it! And that is not just an expression.
Going into a frenzy, starting to test strike the very poor-quality matchsticks our protagonist-with-soon-no-name is covered in a cloud of Sulphur, not to mention the immediate harm done by flying sparks.
There is a distinct odor in the room, the smell of Hell.
But first, Purgatory … in which Comrade Korotkov falls from grace, looses his job and identity.
The general idea of Purgatory is “cleansing” and, as some claim, to prepare your soul for hitting the elevator button either up or down.
In this Purgatory there are a few inspirational elevator scenes and a lot of running down blind alleys, near-slips and carnal temptations.
Overall you would think that as Korotov is really taking on some effort, show the will to better himself and comply with what is expected of him, everything will turn out just fine.
The thing about nightmares is that you never know if they are real, this one neither…
A melodramatic and satirical farce, that Kafka connoisseurs will clearly appreciate.
5/5
No. 13
Once you give assets back to “The People”, they soon prove not able to handle it.
It only takes a spark … and the caretakers hoarded kerosene …
3/5
A Chinese Tale
How to prove worthy of a Soviet citizenship … and then you die.
4/5
The Adventures of Chichikov
Once upon a time lived a man who ceased an opportunity.
Thanks to endless rows of bureaucracy the opportunity grew larger, and as The Holy Scripture says; “For whoever has, to him more shall be given …”.
Thus encouraged, our man buys property, land, sets up businesses and factories in what is today known as a” carousel scheme”. Once your first successful “buy” is secured, you take up loans using that as a security. If no one is talking to each other, and there are ways of preventing this, you continue building your empire. A lot of bureaucracy is a help in this, and that is just what your 20-ties Soviet can provide on large scale.
Was all this just a dream? Maybe, but it could easily have happened.
5/5
April 28, 2023
ترجیحا مقدمه اثر رو بعد از خواندن کتاب بخوانید چون اسپویلر آلرت نداره.
August 11, 2024
کتاب کوچولو, کیوت و جالبی بود.
متاسفانه هنوز نتونستم به درک درستی از داستان های روسی برسم (در رابطه با اشاره هایی که به سیاست شون داره)
بخاطر همین سعی میکنم از خود داستان لذت ببرم و بعد از خوندنش برم درباره داستان بخونم.
البته مقدمه ی مترجم اول کتاب به درک بهتر داستان کمک کرد.
.
از بولگاکف داره خوشم میاد نمیدونم چرا اینقدر علاقه داره توی داستاناش آدم ها رو تبدیل به حیوون کنه :)) واقعا برام عجیبه سبک نوشتنش
ولی با تموم عجیبیش بعد از سه تا کتاب خوندن ازش تسلیمش شدم :دی.
متاسفانه هنوز نتونستم به درک درستی از داستان های روسی برسم (در رابطه با اشاره هایی که به سیاست شون داره)
بخاطر همین سعی میکنم از خود داستان لذت ببرم و بعد از خوندنش برم درباره داستان بخونم.
البته مقدمه ی مترجم اول کتاب به درک بهتر داستان کمک کرد.
.
از بولگاکف داره خوشم میاد نمیدونم چرا اینقدر علاقه داره توی داستاناش آدم ها رو تبدیل به حیوون کنه :)) واقعا برام عجیبه سبک نوشتنش
ولی با تموم عجیبیش بعد از سه تا کتاب خوندن ازش تسلیمش شدم :دی.
December 7, 2024
گفتم این وسط چرا شروع به خوندن چیزی از بولگاکف نکنم؟! به هر حال به نظرم اومد این که اولین داستان بلندشه گزینهی خوبی برای شروعه.
March 21, 2024
در مورد بولگاکف چی می��شه گفت؟ نبوغ نویسنده در همین اثر هم پیداست، رمانکی که جز اولین کارهای بولگاکفه. اگر نام نویسنده رو از روی کتاب حذف کنیم هم با خوندن کتاب هیچ اسمی جز بولگاکف به ذهنمون نمیاد.
اما در مورد ترجمه و مترجم:
-تازگیها رسم بر این شده که مترجمها اول کتاب یادداشتهای طویل مینویسن و از سختی کار و رنج بیپایان ترجمهی کتاب مینویسن. نکته اینجاست که اگر ترجمهی کتابی براتون سخته، خب ترجمهش نکنید. کسی در ازای ترجمه خانوادهتون رو گروگان نگرفته که!
-از کِی تا حالا مترجم اول کتاب یادداشت مینویسه و نظرات شخصی و تحلیلهای دمدستی و تکراری و سطحی خودش رو همراه با خلاصهای از داستان در ابتدا چاپ میکنه؟ (خدا رو شکر اونقدر عاقل بودم که این مزخرفات رو اول نخونم؛ وگرنه بخش زیادی از داستان لو میرفت). تحلیلی که ازجملهبندی گرفته تا کلیدواژههای تکرارشون ه و … همه و همه بیشتر شبیه کنفرانس یک دانشجوی ترم دو بود تا یک نگاه نو یا هوشمندانه و البته هیچکدوم اینها ربطی به مترجم نداره. متاسفانه در ایران مترجمها حتی از نویسندهها هم خودشون رو محقتر میدونن و در وراجی گوی سبقت رو از مولفان ربودن. اتفاقی که در کمتر جایی از دنیا رخ میده. در دنیا مترجم رو حتی انقدرها بزرگ نمیکنن که اسمش روی جلد بیاد. اونوقت در ایران مترجمها کتاب رو «مال خود» میدونن و …
-کتاب کلا ۹۰ صفحهست که ۲۰ صفحهی اول توضیحات آبکی و پیشپاافتادهی مترجمه. چرا من باید بخشی از پولی که بابت کتاب میدم بابت چیزی باشه که نه میخوامش و نه جاش توی کتابه؟
-بسیاری از کلمات عجیب و نامانوس بود و ویراستاری هم عجیبوغریب روی اعصاب بود. از کِی رسم شده بهجای ویرگول، روی کلمهی قبل ساکن بذارید؟ و و و …
اما در مورد ترجمه و مترجم:
-تازگیها رسم بر این شده که مترجمها اول کتاب یادداشتهای طویل مینویسن و از سختی کار و رنج بیپایان ترجمهی کتاب مینویسن. نکته اینجاست که اگر ترجمهی کتابی براتون سخته، خب ترجمهش نکنید. کسی در ازای ترجمه خانوادهتون رو گروگان نگرفته که!
-از کِی تا حالا مترجم اول کتاب یادداشت مینویسه و نظرات شخصی و تحلیلهای دمدستی و تکراری و سطحی خودش رو همراه با خلاصهای از داستان در ابتدا چاپ میکنه؟ (خدا رو شکر اونقدر عاقل بودم که این مزخرفات رو اول نخونم؛ وگرنه بخش زیادی از داستان لو میرفت). تحلیلی که ازجملهبندی گرفته تا کلیدواژههای تکرارشون ه و … همه و همه بیشتر شبیه کنفرانس یک دانشجوی ترم دو بود تا یک نگاه نو یا هوشمندانه و البته هیچکدوم اینها ربطی به مترجم نداره. متاسفانه در ایران مترجمها حتی از نویسندهها هم خودشون رو محقتر میدونن و در وراجی گوی سبقت رو از مولفان ربودن. اتفاقی که در کمتر جایی از دنیا رخ میده. در دنیا مترجم رو حتی انقدرها بزرگ نمیکنن که اسمش روی جلد بیاد. اونوقت در ایران مترجمها کتاب رو «مال خود» میدونن و …
-کتاب کلا ۹۰ صفحهست که ۲۰ صفحهی اول توضیحات آبکی و پیشپاافتادهی مترجمه. چرا من باید بخشی از پولی که بابت کتاب میدم بابت چیزی باشه که نه میخوامش و نه جاش توی کتابه؟
-بسیاری از کلمات عجیب و نامانوس بود و ویراستاری هم عجیبوغریب روی اعصاب بود. از کِی رسم شده بهجای ویرگول، روی کلمهی قبل ساکن بذارید؟ و و و …
January 4, 2018
"Usta ile Margarita"nın gelişini haber veren, tam Bulgakov'dan çıkması beklenecek bir bürokrasi taşlaması. Ama bana kalırsa uzamaması isabet olmuş. Bu uzun öykü haliyle bile çok yorucu bir okuma oldu benim için.
Bulgakov severlere tavsiye ederim.
İyi okumalar.
6.5/10
Bulgakov severlere tavsiye ederim.
İyi okumalar.
6.5/10
July 19, 2015
This book contains five different stories by Bulgakov:
Diaboliad
The Fatal Eggs
No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune
A Chinese Tale
The Adventures of Chichikov
I did not read the final story, as I will wait until I've read Gogol's Dead Souls before I do that. The only story I didn't like very much was No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune, which I failed to appreciate: it was chaotic and not particularly interesting.
The other stories, however, are great. Diaboliad is an absolutely hilarious story, a funny satire of Soviet life. It is clearly inspired by Dostoevsky's The Double, exploring a typical office clerk stuck in an insanely bureaucratic system who eventually, due to some hilariously stupid events, loses his mind. 'This is Gogol and Dostoevsky transposed from the city of St. Petersburg to the city of Moscow" (Introduction xiii).
The Fatal Eggs is also funny. Here, a professor discovers a new 'ray of life' (or so it seems), but here too "irresponsible party authorities" confiscate it from the brilliant and eccentric professor, only to bungle the whole thing up in a sovkhoz (State farm): a story with giant reptiles that threaten the whole of Moscow.
A Chinese Tale is a sad, sad story about a naive young Chinese man who finds himself joining the Red Army, but with no understanding of who he is fighting (for or against) and with no understanding of why. Short, but fairly powerful, and pretty sad.
All in all a great collection of stories, with a very helpful and good introduction written by Julie Curtis: credit to her for that. Really on point and good introductions that don't meander needlessly are hard to come by, at least in my experience.
Diaboliad
The Fatal Eggs
No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune
A Chinese Tale
The Adventures of Chichikov
I did not read the final story, as I will wait until I've read Gogol's Dead Souls before I do that. The only story I didn't like very much was No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune, which I failed to appreciate: it was chaotic and not particularly interesting.
The other stories, however, are great. Diaboliad is an absolutely hilarious story, a funny satire of Soviet life. It is clearly inspired by Dostoevsky's The Double, exploring a typical office clerk stuck in an insanely bureaucratic system who eventually, due to some hilariously stupid events, loses his mind. 'This is Gogol and Dostoevsky transposed from the city of St. Petersburg to the city of Moscow" (Introduction xiii).
The Fatal Eggs is also funny. Here, a professor discovers a new 'ray of life' (or so it seems), but here too "irresponsible party authorities" confiscate it from the brilliant and eccentric professor, only to bungle the whole thing up in a sovkhoz (State farm): a story with giant reptiles that threaten the whole of Moscow.
A Chinese Tale is a sad, sad story about a naive young Chinese man who finds himself joining the Red Army, but with no understanding of who he is fighting (for or against) and with no understanding of why. Short, but fairly powerful, and pretty sad.
All in all a great collection of stories, with a very helpful and good introduction written by Julie Curtis: credit to her for that. Really on point and good introductions that don't meander needlessly are hard to come by, at least in my experience.
July 20, 2022
לסקירה בעיברית -
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/מחול...
https://sivi-the-avid-reader.com/מחול...
June 6, 2016
This collection of Mikhail Bulgakov’s early short stories, written between 1922 and 1923, highlights the pathos and comic surrealism of life in post-revolutionary Moscow.
The title story, “The Diaboliad”, concerns the hapless Korotkov, the chief clerk at the Main Central Depot of Match Materials (or MatchMat) who is paid in the “produce of production” — in other words, matches. The innocent reader may assume that this is an example of Russian absurdism, but according to Lesley Milne’s excellent book Mikhail Bulgakov: A Critical Biography, Bulgakov was paid in matches during the last days of his employment at LITO, the Literary Department of the Central Political Enlightenment Committee in Moscow. This knowledge gives new meaning to the cover design of the Oneworld Classics edition:
Things become even more bizarre for Comrade Korotkov when, temporarily blinded in one eye after quality-testing the matches, he misreads a memo as:
“‘All typists and women generally will in due course be issued soldiers’ uniform drawers.’
‘That’s fantastic!’ Korotkov exclaimed in rapture, and gave a voluptuous shudder, imaging Lidochka in soldiers’ drawers.”
The surrealism of the story is heightened by the location of MatchMat offices in the former sites of Die Alpenrose, a leading restaurant in pre-revolutionary Moscow, and a girls’ boarding school. This leads to incongruous dual signage, such as:
“a sign in silver on blue saying ‘Duty Form Mistress’ and one in pen on paper below: ‘Enquiries’.”
Signage as a symbol of class warfare also appears in another story, “No. 13: The Elpit Workers’ Commune Building”, the tale of what happened to an elegant apartment building when the wealthy and mysterious tenants were replaced by “unprecedented folk” who played “ominous” music on their gramophones:
“It’s a terrible thing when kingdoms are falling. And that every memory has begun to die away... It was then that, by the gates, next to the lantern (a fiery ‘No. 13’), a white plaque was stuck up with a strange inscription on it: ‘Workers’ Commune’.”
The odd one out in this collection is “A Chinese Story”, about a “coolie” who ends up fighting in the Russian Civil War because he doesn’t understand Russian. I thought this story was in extremely poor taste, until I read Lesley Milne’s analysis. She suggests that Bulgakov wrote this piece as an exercise in evoking an “estranged reality” for the battle scenes in his first novel, The White Guard.
Soviet absurdism returns in the last story, “The Adventures of Chichikov”, a parody of the Soviet government’s New Economic Plan. Chichikov is what the British would describe as a “wide boy”:
“First name? Pavel. Patronymic? Ivanovich. Surname? Chichikov. Profession? Character in Gogol. Work before the Revolution? Purchase of dead souls.”
The stories in Diaboliad show the beginnings of the wonderful magical realism which Mikhail Bulgakov realised in his most celebrated work, The Master and Margarita.
March 2, 2017
Mikhail Bulgakov (1891 - 1940) and the composer Dmitri Shostakovich (1906 - 1975) had met and briefly toyed with the idea of working together on a dramatic work. It was not to be, but their collaboration is a tantalizing "might have been". Indeed, the more I read of Bulgakov, the more he reminds me of Shostakovich. Not the composer of the symphonies perhaps, but the Shostakovich of the circus music, of the manic and dissonant galops, of the acerbic music theatre pieces. This is particularly true of Bulgakov's short stories, four of which are grouped in this attractive Oneworld Classics edition.
The title-piece is "Diaboliad", featuring the unassuming office clerk Korotkov who is sacked from his job at the "Main Central Depot of Match Materials" for a farcical error. The story describes his increasingly despairing and nightmarish quest through the Soviet civil service to seek the official responsible for his dismissal. There's no denying the narrative's brilliance, but this is no comfort reading - the surreal world depicted becomes as head-splitting as a hangover on cheap wine.
A similar atmosphere pervades "No. 13 - The Elpit Workers' Commune Building", a tale about an exclusive condominium which is expropriated by the new Communist regime and "A Chinese Tale", in which a Chinese immigrant discovers his talent as a machine-gunner...with tragic consequences.
The most lighthearted work in the collection is "The Adventures of Chichikov", a literary divertissement in which characters from Gogol's "Dead Soul" reappear in Communist Russia. This story displays Bulgakov's admiration for the classic Russian author - yet, even here, it's not difficult to decipher the political commentary simmering beneath the surface. One starts to feel that, whilst being no nostalgic sympathizer of the "ancien regime", Bulgakov had little faith in the utopian promises of Communism.
The works in this Oneword Classics edition are presented in a new translation by Hugh Aplin who has previously translated Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Turgenev amongst others. Aplin also provides notes on the text and thirty pages of very helpful "extra material" including a biography of Bulgakov and a brief introduction to his major works.
Highly recommended.
The title-piece is "Diaboliad", featuring the unassuming office clerk Korotkov who is sacked from his job at the "Main Central Depot of Match Materials" for a farcical error. The story describes his increasingly despairing and nightmarish quest through the Soviet civil service to seek the official responsible for his dismissal. There's no denying the narrative's brilliance, but this is no comfort reading - the surreal world depicted becomes as head-splitting as a hangover on cheap wine.
A similar atmosphere pervades "No. 13 - The Elpit Workers' Commune Building", a tale about an exclusive condominium which is expropriated by the new Communist regime and "A Chinese Tale", in which a Chinese immigrant discovers his talent as a machine-gunner...with tragic consequences.
The most lighthearted work in the collection is "The Adventures of Chichikov", a literary divertissement in which characters from Gogol's "Dead Soul" reappear in Communist Russia. This story displays Bulgakov's admiration for the classic Russian author - yet, even here, it's not difficult to decipher the political commentary simmering beneath the surface. One starts to feel that, whilst being no nostalgic sympathizer of the "ancien regime", Bulgakov had little faith in the utopian promises of Communism.
The works in this Oneword Classics edition are presented in a new translation by Hugh Aplin who has previously translated Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Turgenev amongst others. Aplin also provides notes on the text and thirty pages of very helpful "extra material" including a biography of Bulgakov and a brief introduction to his major works.
Highly recommended.
August 3, 2017
One of the things against which Bulgakov railed at the time he was writing these five stories—Diaboliad, The Fatal Eggs (really more of a novella), No. 13, the Elpit-Workers' Commune, A Chinese Tale, and The Adventures of Chichikov—was a campaign, begun around 1921, which proudly claimed that satire no longer had a role to play in Soviet literature. The idea was that satire had fulfilled a vital function in the 19th century in furthering progressive, anti-authoritarian thinking—but now, in Soviet culture, when the interests of the workers were identical to that of the State, satire had effectively become redundant because there were no more problems in need of satirical treatment. I think that Bulgakov singlehandedly shows, through these tales, that there is always a need for satire—especially if it is done as masterly as he did it.
January 17, 2012
Four stories. ‘Diaboliad’ is a farcical satire on bureaucratic absurdity, a surreal reworking of Dostoevsky’s The Double that clouds the narrative’s clarity with too many oddities. ‘No. 13—The Elpit Workers’ Commune’ is even more strange, an over-the-top blackly comic story about a collapsing building and the ensuing casualties. The tone is extremely uneven and lacking in a narrative viewpoint or point of focus. ‘A Chinese Tale’ is a little too time-specific to have any contemporary value. ‘The Adventures of Chichikov’ is the redeemer: a brisk riff on Gogol’s Dead Souls with some light metafictive flickers. Some editions contain the novella The Fatal Eggs which is a brilliant SF dalliance and one of Bulgakov’s most successful satires. Shame this one didn’t.
April 10, 2021
Δεν μπορώ να προσδιορίσω το γιατί ακριβώς, αλλά μου φαίνεται πως ετούτο το βιβλίο του Μπουλγκάκοφ δεν ήταν για ‘μένα σ’ αυτή την φάση. Πέρα από τα «Μοιραία Αυγά», που τα βρήκα εξαιρετικά, τα υπόλοιπα τέσσερα διηγήματα ήταν γραμμένα με μιαν εφιαλτική ακαθοριστία ή και βουτηγμένα πατόκορφα σε μιαν υπερβολή που με κούρασε, και δυσκολεύτηκα να εντοπίσω την σάτιρα και τον κοινωνικό-πολιτικό καυτηριασμό που περίμενα. Σε ορισμένα σημεία ήταν και τα δυο εμφανή, όπως στο «Νο 13. Το σπίτι Ελπίτ-Εργατκοινόβιο» όπου η έλλειψη πρόνοιας εκ μέρους του κρά��ους για την θέρμανση προκαλεί την καταστροφή, λίγο-πολύ, μιας ολόκληρης πόλης, όμως αλλού, όπως στην «Κινέζικη ιστορία», δεν τα κατάφερα να βρω αυτόν τον κοινό άξονα, έστω της παράλογης και βραδυκίνητης σοβιετικής γραφειοκρατίας που ενοποιεί τα υπόλοιπα διηγήματα, για να καταλάβω πώς συνδέεται αυτό με τα άλλα τέσσερα.
Πάντως, σε γενικές γραμμές βρήκα την ανθολογία όμορφα ιδιαίτερη, και η γραφή του Μπουλγκάκοφ μου άρεσε πολύ. Νομίζω πως θα μου είχε κάνει εντελώς αλλιώτικη εντύπωση εάν την είχα διαβάσει μεγαλύτερη και ωριμότερη, οπότε επιφυλάσσομαι για μια μελλοντική επαναληπτική ανάγνωση.
Πάντως, σε γενικές γραμμές βρήκα την ανθολογία όμορφα ιδιαίτερη, και η γραφή του Μπουλγκάκοφ μου άρεσε πολύ. Νομίζω πως θα μου είχε κάνει εντελώς αλλιώτικη εντύπωση εάν την είχα διαβάσει μεγαλύτερη και ωριμότερη, οπότε επιφυλάσσομαι για μια μελλοντική επαναληπτική ανάγνωση.
February 7, 2017
Bulgakov bu uzun öyküsünde sıradan bir insanın başına gelen zincirleme aksaklıkları ve bunların sonuçlarını anlatıyor. Şiddetli bir Sovyet parodisi olmasının yanında günlük yaşamın boşluklarını ve saçmalıklarını da içeriyor. Yazarın kitaplarının neden uzun süre yasaklı kaldığını anlayabiliyorum. sovyet edebiyatı sevenlere öneririm.
December 28, 2021
Być może to moment, kiedy satyra na głupotę i zepsucie systemu przestaje na mnie działać (bo bluzgam lub popłakuję zamiast chichrać się pod nosem), a może Diaboliada ze wspaniałości ma tylko tytuł.
October 1, 2017
The Diaboliad - ★★★
Surreal and crazy but has moments of humor that I can appreciate.
The Elpit Workers' Commune Building - ★
Something just felt wrong with this story. I have a suspicion it maybe the translation. Or maybe it needed another edit. Rough and gritty but didn’t grab my attention much.
A Chinese Tale - ★
No.
The Adventures of Chichikov - ★★★★
Most enjoyable for this Gogol reader of Dead Souls. It’s like literary fanfiction from another one of your favorite Russians. Loved the ending in particular.
Surreal and crazy but has moments of humor that I can appreciate.
The Elpit Workers' Commune Building - ★
Something just felt wrong with this story. I have a suspicion it maybe the translation. Or maybe it needed another edit. Rough and gritty but didn’t grab my attention much.
A Chinese Tale - ★
No.
The Adventures of Chichikov - ★★★★
Most enjoyable for this Gogol reader of Dead Souls. It’s like literary fanfiction from another one of your favorite Russians. Loved the ending in particular.
October 30, 2020
The most bizarre thing I have ever read. Not that good from the literary pov, but truly, what it is, it is bizarre. 3.6 stars.
September 19, 2024
نمیدونم والا کلاً از بولگاکف خوشم میاد.
December 14, 2015
There are times when I loathe the star system here. I know some people choose to ignore it entirely, but my OCD tells me that I have to fill it in, so I always do. But I have no idea what rating to give a book that is as inconsistent as this one is.
On the high end, The Fatal Eggs is fantastic. Both a deeply funny satire and a weird science fiction novella/short story (at a 100 pages it doesn't feel like short story in appropriate), it should be essential reading if you like Bulgakov. Maybe pick up this other collection - The Fatal Eggs and Other Soviet Satire 1918-1963 - which also contains *something* by Ilf and Petrov, so I doubt you'd go wrong picking that up in place of this.
"The Adventures of Chichikov" is a solid, amusing riff on Gogol's Dead Souls which has a light meta thing going on which is appealing on a couple different levels (both that I like some meta in my fiction, and that I like to see it pop up in older stories as a foundation for a lot of the weirdness that would follow).
The title story - Diaboliad - is decent, and has some amusing settings and scenes, but the second half is jumbled and unnecessarily confusing. Bulgakov showed he can handle this level of complexity masterfully (yes, intended) with The Master and Margarita, but the skill and craft displayed there is lacking in this earlier story.
The other two stories are disposable, and not really worth the time or effort to read them.
My edition contained about six other assorted works after this main set of stories - they were also a mixed bag, but they mostly were of sufficient quality to be worth the time to consume them.
I will say that, at a minimum, the collection has made me want to pick up the other Bulgakov stuff that I haven't read, and I will likely do so in the near future.
Again, the strength of the collection, and the rating I'm going with, is the masterful The Fatal Eggs - and, as you can find that elsewhere, maybe this edition specifically isn't necessary; that said, finding a book that contains The Fatal Eggs should be mandatory for any fans of Bulgakov. Go forth.
On the high end, The Fatal Eggs is fantastic. Both a deeply funny satire and a weird science fiction novella/short story (at a 100 pages it doesn't feel like short story in appropriate), it should be essential reading if you like Bulgakov. Maybe pick up this other collection - The Fatal Eggs and Other Soviet Satire 1918-1963 - which also contains *something* by Ilf and Petrov, so I doubt you'd go wrong picking that up in place of this.
"The Adventures of Chichikov" is a solid, amusing riff on Gogol's Dead Souls which has a light meta thing going on which is appealing on a couple different levels (both that I like some meta in my fiction, and that I like to see it pop up in older stories as a foundation for a lot of the weirdness that would follow).
The title story - Diaboliad - is decent, and has some amusing settings and scenes, but the second half is jumbled and unnecessarily confusing. Bulgakov showed he can handle this level of complexity masterfully (yes, intended) with The Master and Margarita, but the skill and craft displayed there is lacking in this earlier story.
The other two stories are disposable, and not really worth the time or effort to read them.
My edition contained about six other assorted works after this main set of stories - they were also a mixed bag, but they mostly were of sufficient quality to be worth the time to consume them.
I will say that, at a minimum, the collection has made me want to pick up the other Bulgakov stuff that I haven't read, and I will likely do so in the near future.
Again, the strength of the collection, and the rating I'm going with, is the masterful The Fatal Eggs - and, as you can find that elsewhere, maybe this edition specifically isn't necessary; that said, finding a book that contains The Fatal Eggs should be mandatory for any fans of Bulgakov. Go forth.
May 29, 2023
خواندن هر اثر از میخاییل بولگاکف تجربه ی شگفت و لذت بخشی ست. بعد از "قلب سگی" و "یادداشت های یک پزشک جوان" این بار نوبتِ "ابلیس نامه" بود که مرا شگفت زده کند.
این داستانِ بلند یا نوولای روسی اولین داستان بلندِ بولگاکف است؛ قبل از "تخم مرغ های شوم" و "قلب سگی".
داستانِ کاراتکوف، کارمندِ سربه زیر و آرامِ اداره ی تأمین گوگرد برای کبریت یا به اختصار "اسپیمات" را می خوانیم که هجویه ای تمام روسی ست بر سیستمِ خشک و بی روحِ اداریِ حکومتِ شوروی و نقدی ست جدی و اساسی بر انسانِ کوچکِ بعد از انقلاب اکتبر...
سرکار خانم یلدا بیدختی نژاد یکی از بهترین مترجمین سال های اخیر بوده به زعم من؛ و با روندی که در پیش گرفته قطعا در ادامه هم مخاطبین را از لذتِ خواندنِ ادبیاتِ غنی روسیه مح��وم نخواهد کرد. امیدوارم مترجمانِ حرفه ای و کاربلدِ بیشتری چون ایشان در عرصه ی ترجمه ببینیم.
این داستانِ بلند یا نوولای روسی اولین داستان بلندِ بولگاکف است؛ قبل از "تخم مرغ های شوم" و "قلب سگی".
داستانِ کاراتکوف، کارمندِ سربه زیر و آرامِ اداره ی تأمین گوگرد برای کبریت یا به اختصار "اسپیمات" را می خوانیم که هجویه ای تمام روسی ست بر سیستمِ خشک و بی روحِ اداریِ حکومتِ شوروی و نقدی ست جدی و اساسی بر انسانِ کوچکِ بعد از انقلاب اکتبر...
سرکار خانم یلدا بیدختی نژاد یکی از بهترین مترجمین سال های اخیر بوده به زعم من؛ و با روندی که در پیش گرفته قطعا در ادامه هم مخاطبین را از لذتِ خواندنِ ادبیاتِ غنی روسیه مح��وم نخواهد کرد. امیدوارم مترجمانِ حرفه ای و کاربلدِ بیشتری چون ایشان در عرصه ی ترجمه ببینیم.
June 30, 2015
نشيد الشيطان
ذات عوالم بولغاكوف والتي خبرتها في (المعلم ومارغريتا)، العالم الشيطاني الغريب والذي يقع فيه موظف روسي بسيط، تم فصله بسبب خطأ طباعي بسيط، وفي الطريق إلى تصحيح وضعه، يفقد وثائقه وتزداد غرائبية الأشياء التي يواجهها.
ذات عوالم بولغاكوف والتي خبرتها في (المعلم ومارغريتا)، العالم الشيطاني الغريب والذي يقع فيه موظف روسي بسيط، تم فصله بسبب خطأ طباعي بسيط، وفي الطريق إلى تصحيح وضعه، يفقد وثائقه وتزداد غرائبية الأشياء التي يواجهها.
September 28, 2023
Niby trochę Kafka w wersji radzieckiej, a jednak ponownie nic specjalnego. Podobnie jak w Fatalnych Jajach czuć już niezwykły talent do słowa, ale to jest tylko wprawka do opus magnum Bułhakowa.
August 19, 2024
کتاب «ابلیسنامه»، که عنوان فرعیاش «داستان اینکه چطور دوقلوها کارمند بینوا را نابود کردند» است، یک داستان کوتاه درباب بوروکراسی و مصائب یک کارمند دونپایه در نظام بوروکراتیک و معیوب و فاسد روسیۀ شوروی دربارهی نظام کمونیستی حاکم بر روسیه در سالهای آغازین انقلاب اکتبر است.
این اولین کتابی بود که از میخائیل بولگاکُف خوندم و اصلا خوشم نیومد، نمیدونم شاید چون سبک من نبود یا هرچی، ولی چیزی که میتونم راجع به این کتاب براتون بگم اینه که راجع به زندگی کارمندی به نام کاراتکوف هست که در اداره ای کوچک و نه چندان مهم به نام بنیاد تامین مواد اولیه برای کبريت کار میکنه.
زندگی بخور و نمیری داره و حداقل از اینکه همین شغل رو داره و تونسته ۱۱ ماه تمام سرکارش دووم بیاره راضی و خوشحاله، اما بخاطر سؤ تفاهمی کوچیک زندگی و موقعیت شغلی اش به خطر میوفته و هرچقدر سعی میکنه سوءتفاهم رو رفع کنه اوضاع پيچيده تر میشه.
حالا کاراتکوف تموم تلاشش رو میکنه تا زندگیش رو نجات بده.
این کتاب ترکیبی از واقعیت و تخیله و همچنین روایتی از نبرد یک انسان ضعیف و بیدفاع با دستگاه غولپیکر و مخوف بوروکراسی در نظامی فاسد و معیوبه؛ نبردی که نتیجهاش شکست از بوروکراسیست.
در ابلیس نامه نویسنده سعی داره به ما بفهمونه یک شهروند عادی اتحاد شوروی قراره چطور زندگی کنه، اما کم کم به ماهیت شیطانی رژیم تمامیتخواه شوروی نزدیک میشه و بعد از اون داستان وارد مفاهیم اساسی مانند تنهایی، فرار و مرگ میشه.
اگر به داستان های کوتاه علاقه دارید میتونید این کتاب رو بخونید ولی اگه اولین باره قصد دارین داستان کوتاه بخونید این کتاب گزینه خوبی نیست.
این اولین کتابی بود که از میخائیل بولگاکُف خوندم و اصلا خوشم نیومد، نمیدونم شاید چون سبک من نبود یا هرچی، ولی چیزی که میتونم راجع به این کتاب براتون بگم اینه که راجع به زندگی کارمندی به نام کاراتکوف هست که در اداره ای کوچک و نه چندان مهم به نام بنیاد تامین مواد اولیه برای کبريت کار میکنه.
زندگی بخور و نمیری داره و حداقل از اینکه همین شغل رو داره و تونسته ۱۱ ماه تمام سرکارش دووم بیاره راضی و خوشحاله، اما بخاطر سؤ تفاهمی کوچیک زندگی و موقعیت شغلی اش به خطر میوفته و هرچقدر سعی میکنه سوءتفاهم رو رفع کنه اوضاع پيچيده تر میشه.
حالا کاراتکوف تموم تلاشش رو میکنه تا زندگیش رو نجات بده.
این کتاب ترکیبی از واقعیت و تخیله و همچنین روایتی از نبرد یک انسان ضعیف و بیدفاع با دستگاه غولپیکر و مخوف بوروکراسی در نظامی فاسد و معیوبه؛ نبردی که نتیجهاش شکست از بوروکراسیست.
در ابلیس نامه نویسنده سعی داره به ما بفهمونه یک شهروند عادی اتحاد شوروی قراره چطور زندگی کنه، اما کم کم به ماهیت شیطانی رژیم تمامیتخواه شوروی نزدیک میشه و بعد از اون داستان وارد مفاهیم اساسی مانند تنهایی، فرار و مرگ میشه.
اگر به داستان های کوتاه علاقه دارید میتونید این کتاب رو بخونید ولی اگه اولین باره قصد دارین داستان کوتاه بخونید این کتاب گزینه خوبی نیست.
January 4, 2013
This I picked when at a friend's home, out of the sheer need to read something, because I had forgotten mine at home. I finished the book the same evening, as well as The Fatal Egg , a story by the same author.
This was humorous, especially because trying to imagine all the mess made me laugh at times. It's very short but also very energetic, at all times something is happening and if you miss on it, you don't understand a thing!
I get the feeling I'll be reading some more from Bulgakov, because his style is purely dynamic and he masters character creation really well!
This was humorous, especially because trying to imagine all the mess made me laugh at times. It's very short but also very energetic, at all times something is happening and if you miss on it, you don't understand a thing!
I get the feeling I'll be reading some more from Bulgakov, because his style is purely dynamic and he masters character creation really well!
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